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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' V. & B. CLAIR. Y FIREARM WITH BREEGH OPERATED BY GASES OF EXPLOSION.

No. 483,53 9. Patented bet. 4, 1892.

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V. & B. CLAIR. FIREARM WITH BREBGH OPERATED BY GASES 0F EXPLOSION.

Patented 001; 4, 1892.

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ATENT FlREARti WlTH BREECH OPERATED BY GASES 0F EXPLOSION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 483,539, dated October 1892. Application filed March 20, 1889. Serial No. 3ll3,995. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, VICTOR CLAIR and BENOIT CLAIR, citizens of the French Republic, both residing at St. Etienne, in the Department of Loire, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Repeating Firearms, of which the following is a specification.

Ourinvention relates to improvements in repeating firearms; and it consists in a me chanical device suitable for attachment to and with the system of a magazine-gun, making the gun automatic in loading at each discharge, except to pull the trigger, thus enabling the shooter to hold the gun perinanently at the shoulder and the eye in the sights, While the reloading of the gun is automatically performed until the magazine is entirely exhausted. Ne accomplish this object of reloading the gun at each discharge by utilizing the pressure of the explosive gases generated by combustion'in the barrel of. the gun.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters denote similar parts, Figures 1 and 2 are longitudinal sections of the barrel oiia gun provided with our improvements, the former showing the position of the me chanical device for attachment toand with the breech-loading mechanism previous to the discharge of the gun, while the latter shows the posi on of'the said device after the gun has been fired off and the ball just passed a small hole forming a passage for the explosive gas from the interior of the barrel of the gun to a cylindrical tube at the side and parallel with the barrel, into which is fitted a movable rod or piston, which is adapted to actuate the breech-loading mechanism of the gun. Fig. 3 is also a sectional View showing the position of the parts of the said attachment in the moment when the ball has just left the muzzle of the barrel. Figs.

4 to 6 are sectional views of the barrel, show? ing the essential parts of the said attachment on an enlarged scale and in the positions represented by Figs. 1 to 3, respectively. Fig. ,7 is a longitudinal section or" the breech mechanism of a magazine-gun of known construction, in. connection with our improved attachment;- and Fig. 8, alongitndinal section of the butt end of the stock containing the magazine for storing the cartridges.

At the under side of and parallel with thebarrel 0 is mounted within the fore-end of the stock the tube B, inclosing the attachment for transmitting the pressure of the explosive correspond to the motion of the piston re quired for actuating the breech-bolt and conveying the cartridge from the magazine into the barrel.. The piston 12 is connected to a rod (1", extending through a suitable hole in the cover at the rear end of the' cylinder,

where the rod is received within a coiled drive-spring R, hearing at the fore-end of the gun upon the'cover of thecyl-inderh and at the breech upon a flange or head of the pis ton-rod, which in the position of rest bearsupon a shoulder within it's guideway, so that in any position of the piston 11 the passage or vent a shall be free. and open to admit the entrance and escape of the gases of combustion from and to the barrel of the gun.

To the piston-rod (1* is rearwardly connected a spring-bar (i being provided at its ex tremity with a sidewise-bent linger (P, so as to form a projection or nose (1, which serves to engage with a head d of a rod 25, hearing by means of acollar upon a coiled reciprocating spring S, placed within a cylinder inclosed by the said tube B and resting with its rod 15, extends through the hind bottom of the said cylinder into another cylinder E, in which is fitted a piston or flange e of the rod f, serving as a guide-block for the latter, as well as for. the hereto-connected rod T. This rod T is provided at its free rear. end with a cross-head or piston a*', which is guided within the tube B and adapted to lock with a springtoo 65, from the barrel C and of sufi'lcient length-to rods 0 and e.

tion shown in Figs. 1 and 4. At the instant the triggeris pulled our improved attachment, inclosed in the tube B, will remain in the position of rest until the ball has passed the hole ain the barrel, when a portion of the gases of combustion passes into and through the hole a and into the space in the cylinder h at the rear of piston 19. The piston 17, the rod d, and the drive-spring R are thrown forward until the nose (1 of the spring-rod d may look against the head (1' of the rod t, Figs. 2 and 5. Thetension of the spring R then reacts against the flange or head of the red at", the latter against the spring-rod at, this by means of the nose d in the direction of the arrow y against the rods t t, the recoil-spring S, and the rod T, with cross-head a, whereby the latter engages through a projection a" with the spring-hook 'r of a guide-block or follower I), being connected through the rod 0 to and with the breech-bolt. This is the first motion of loading by which the breech is opened and in case of reloading the spent cartridge-shell thrown out, Fig. 7. It will be observed that when the spring-rod (1 follows the reaction of the drive-spring R to the end the finger-d will meet a wedge-shaped nose or deflector m, Figs. 3 and 6, and thereby slide oif the head d of the rod t, thus liberating the mechanism from the backward force of the drive-spring B.

After the backward force of the spring R is removed the return motion of the loading.

mechanism is inaugurated. The reaction of the spring S through the connecting-rod c, the follower Z), cross-head a", and rod T forces the breech-bolt to a closed and locked posit'ion,also drives acartridge fed from the maga zine into the barrel, and places the gun in readiness to be fired. During this action and while the parts of our improved attachment return into their position of rest at the end of the motion the cross-head a is liberated rom the follower b by means of a finger in the path of sprihg-hook 0", thus disengaging the latter from the projection of of the crosshead, when the parts of the attachment will occupy the position shown in Figs. 1 and 4. It will be understood from the foregoing that for the next discharge and reloading of the firearm but the one motion-viz;, to pull the trigger-is required, and so on until the contents of the magazine are entirely exhausted.

The operation of the peculiar breech mechanism illustrated in Fig. 7, in conjunction with the magazine, Fig. 8, and our improved attachment, is caused by means of the two (Represented in Fig. 7 in stout and dotted lines.) The rod 0 serves to conmeet the breech-bolt (1* to the follower I), thus ransmitt n t o Qtt e. tte i ebreech bolt. The rod is attached tothe breech-bolt by means of a pivot a of a fingerknob, which may serve tooperate the breech :bolt by hand in case the repeating mechanism is put out of action. The other rod 6, which is connected at e to one link of the feedingband f and at the other end by means of a bolt '1? to the tug 0 of the rod 0, serves to advance the cartridges from the magazine, Fig. 8, to the cartridge-carrier S and to actuate the latter through the medium of a projection" i of the rod 0 and a spring-operated lever S. in a well-known .manner.

To prevent the cartridges from traveling backward on the return motion of the feeding-band f, flat springs n are arranged in the conduct ofthe cartridges, yielding-on the {ass sage of the latter to the barrel, but engaging with a finger-knob accessible from the side of the stock in any convenient manner, so that the feed-band attachment. The breech mechanism may nevertheless be actuated by the aid of the gases of combustion in the barrel through the rod 0, in which case the cartridges must be dropped into the open chamber by hand.

. Having now. fully described our'invention, what we claim, and desire to protect by Let 'ters Patent, is f- In a magazine-firearm, asan improvement in attachments for loading thegun automati- .cally after firing by the explosive gaseoutiucted fromthe bore of thebarrel through a vent into a cylinder arranged under the latter, the combination of the. piston 12 in said.

cylinder and the spring R',pressing rearward on the piston, the yielding drive-rod (i pro 'vided with a nose d and a finger d the for mer adaptedto engage with the drive-rod t, a spring S, pressing forward on the rod, the latter adapted to meet with aprojection in the path of the drive-rod (1 so asto release the latter from the rod t at the end of the backward motion, the cross-head a at the breech end of a rod T, forming the rearward extension'of the drive-rod t, and thefollower'b engaging with the cross-head a and con nected through the rod 0 with the breech-bolt and through the rod c ;with the feed-band f, conveying the cartridges from the magazine f may not'ibe operated by our reg into the breech-cylinder of thegumsubstam tially as and for the purpose set forth.

Intestimony th'at we claim the foregoing as our-"invention we have signed our names, in

presence of two witnesses, this .Fehruary, 1889.

VICTOR CLAIR. BENOIT CLAIR.

Ni tnesses:

EDMOND DELORME, Oscar: MALMnos.

26th day of 

